The Darkness and the Light
by it walks alone
Summary: After Harry’s fourth year, Dumbledore realizes that his blood protections won’t work, and so sends him to live with his second cousin who happens to live in Japan, by the name of Ryou Bakura.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** After Harry's fourth year, Dumbledore realizes that his blood protections won't work, and so sends him to live with his second cousin who happens to live in Japan, by the name of Ryou Bakura.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. Sorry, there won't be any funny ones here.

**A/N:** IWA: I'm back! No, I haven't died, and no, I also haven't fallen of the face of the Earth. I've simply been in that alternate reality called "College". My brother, Vyrexuviel, and I just started working on this, so interest in this one is pretty high. I'll probably write some more during break, then forget about it when I go back to school. Have no fear, though, I will NOT leave a story unfinished. I'm OCD like that.

**Prologue**

The door to Dumbledore's office opened and the old wizard stepped in. He softly closed the door and strode to his desk. After feeding Fawkes and stroking the phoenix, he turned and addressed the air. "I know you're there and listening. I have much to say and little time to say it in." He sat behind his desk. "­­­­­­­­I realize this must be a shock to you, but listen well, it's important.

"Magic is ambient throughout the world. Like elemental Air or Fire. Indeed, it was what the ancient Greeks referred to as the Fifth Element. (IWA: No jokes about multipasses, please.) Like the other elements, it can be manipulated, but unlike them, it is not as limited to a specific set of effects it can produce. Fire, for example, is very good at destroying things, but it is extremely difficult for even the most skilled manipulators of Fire to create something from it. On the other hand, Water is adept at healing, but is very weak when it comes to damaging things. The problem with Water is that it's difficult to find it in large enough quantities to do much damage, except on the coasts.

"Magic, however, is only limited by the imagination of the manipulator. It can be shaped as easily into a harming form as it can be into a healing one. However, getting Magic to do _anything_ coherently requires lots of practice and patience.

"The first four elements require minimal study, if the person in question has the aptitude. If he doesn't have the aptitude, he'd be better off using Magic, as it would take nearly as long to develop the necessary control. Everyone has an aptitude towards one element; a rare person has two elemental aptitudes, but never for opposing elements. _No one_ has an aptitude for Magic, hence why it takes so long to control."

He shifted a bit, then stood, moving to the cupboard. "So, to recap. All five elements can be manipulated, but Magic is both the most versatile and the hardest to control. Raw magic can be very damaging, but has a bad habit of doing random things as well, such as turning the caster's hair blue.

"Shadow Magic is not native to this world, and as such leaves a faintly unsettling aura where it's used in great quantities. However, since it's not native to the world, it can only be used if the mage has an innate connection to the Shadow Realm. Such people are extremely rare, maybe one every ten generations, and usually wind up being hunted by the magical community. Part of the reason is that Shadow Magic can and will drive the user insane if used too freely. It's not native to this plane of existence, and warps first the mind, then the body of the one who uses it.

"The Millennium Items render their wielders immune to this effect due to the fact that the connection to the Shadow Realm is through an inanimate object. This object doesn't have a mind or a body to be warped, so the negative aspects of the use of Shadow Magic are nullified. Malik was a true Shadow Mage, hence why he was able to draw so much power from the Item he carried. He augmented it with his own power.

"Bakura, on the other hand, was driven insane by 5000 years of solitude with nothing to do."

The Headmaster strode across the room, checked a curved retort containing a bubbling liquid, then resumed his speech. "Even though the yamis have their own bodies, there is only one of each Item. When the new bodies were created for the alternate souls, they were bound inextricably to the Items in question. If an Item is wielded by someone other than its rightful owner, then the release of Shadow Magic is not as controlled as it should be, resulting in a slight backwash which affects the current user. That's how Malik found out he could enhance the Rod's power.

"Yugi is the rightful owner of the Puzzle. Yami has learned how to tap the power of the Puzzle to shield himself from the ravaging effects of the use of shadow magic. The same is true for the other Items.

"The yamis are dependent on their Items for existence, because they keep their new bodies from disintegrating, but they've learned how to use Shadow Magic by spending LOTS of time in the Shadow Realm, and have found ways of keeping the warping effects at bay. Bakura, not so much. And Marik..." Dumbledore trailed off, sighing and shaking his head, sitting at his desk now.

"The rightful owners can wield the Items correctly, as their souls align the energies released by the Item in a precise flow that creates whatever effect they desire. Unconsciously, they each desire for the souls trapped in the items to have a body of their own, so the Items project Shadow Magic to make such bodies. The souls still reside in the Items, but their senses and actions are relayed to the bodies they _seem_ to inhabit.

"The yamis' bodies are soulless husks animated by the power of the Items and are inextricably bound to them. If the yami ticks off his hikari enough, the hikari can cease the flow of energy which animates the body of the yami and he'll get stuck in the Item again.

"The effective range of the Items is unknown, as no one can get far enough away to test it. More than the diameter of the Earth at any rate, so the yamis don't have problems with being away from their hikaris. It doesn't matter, though, as the Shadow Realm contacts all points on this plane of existence, and the bodies just draw power from the Shadow Realm. The release of such power is dictated by the Items, which exist simultaneously in both this Realm and the Shadow Realm.

In the Shadow Realm, each Item is a building. The Puzzle is a pyramid, and so on. Each building reflects the shape of the Item. As they are connected, the hikaris will know if their yami uses Shadow Magic, but only if they concentrate on it. Otherwise, the knowledge remains subconscious. Only major acts of Shadow Magic insist themselves on conscious awareness, like if Bakura was trying to send an entire building to the Shadow Realm." (IWA: Ryou wouldn't be too happy with him about that, though.)

At that point, there was a timid knock on the door. The Headmaster stood, stroking his long beard. "I said that time was short, but I didn't know how short. Come in," he called.

The door opened with a soft creak.

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IWA: Well? What'd you think so far? The first chapter should be posted soon, I think… I'm loath to give you a time limit, though, 'cause I'd just miss it. v.v (sigh) I hate being a procrastinator.

A/N(2): Just proofread this and caught SO many mistakes. Not to mention it was completely written in present tense. Well, that's what I get for letting my brother write it.


	2. A New Beginning

**Summary:** After Harry's fourth year, Dumbledore realizes that his blood protections won't work, and so sends him to live with his second cousin who happens to live in Japan, by the name of Ryou Bakura.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. Sorry, there won't be any funny ones here.

**A/N:** Btw, this AUs the Potterverse at the end of Harry's fourth year. Fifth year happens as it does in the books, though, except where I go into detail about it.

"English" "-Japanese-" _Thoughts_ _"Telephone or other such communication device"_ (A/N)

**Last Time:**

At that point, there was a timid knock on the door. The Headmaster stood, stroking his long beard. "I said that time was short, but I didn't know how short. Come in," he called.

The door opened with a soft creak.

**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

Harry poked his head in the door. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled benignly at him. "Yes, yes. Have a seat. Lemon drop?" he offered, sitting down.

Harry shook his head at the bowl of Muggle sweets and took a seat in an overstuffed armchair.

The Headmaster sighed. "As you know, Voldemort returned this year, using your blood."

Harry nodded. He could vividly remember Wormtail digging the knife into the crook of his right elbow… He shuddered and forced himself not to think about it.

"Because of this, the blood protections placed on your aunt's house will no longer be effective against him," Dumbledore continued.

Harry stared in abject horror. "But that's the only place I have to go… Where will I go for the summer, then?"

Dumbledore smiled, stroking his beard. "You do have other blood relatives, you know. However, as he is not blood related to your mother, the blood protections would not have worked with him. As that point is now moot, I believe it would be to the advantage of everyone concerned to have you live with him."

Harry was curious in spite of himself. "Who is he? Where does he live?"

"His name is Ryou Bakura, your second cousin on your father's side. I don't know if he has magic himself, but I do know he is aware of our world. He lives in Domino, Japan."

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Ryou looked up from his book when he heard a tapping on his window. He blinked. _There is an owl tapping on my window. In broad daylight._ He blinked some more, then bookmarked his page, set his book down, and opened the window. The owl flew in, landed on a table, and stuck out its leg imperiously. It was then that he noticed there was a piece of paper tied to its leg. He blinked again, then untied it. The note read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
_of_ WITCHCRAFT_ and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: **Albus Dumbledore  
**_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
__Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr. Bakura,

Due to unforeseen consequences of an event which happened during the past school year, your second cousin, Mr. Harry Potter, will no longer be safe in England during the summers. As you are his only other living relative, please consider allowing him to stay with you during the summer.

Term ends on June 12. We await your owl by no later than May 31.

Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall,  
_Deputy Headmistress_

Ryou stared. "-Bakura?-" he called.

"-Yeah, Ryou?-" his yami called back.

"-Could you come here? I think you'll want to take a look at this.-"

Bakura stuck his head through the doorway. "-Eh? What is it? …Ryou, is that an owl?-"

Ryou didn't look up from the letter. "-Yes, Yami, it's an owl. It gave me this letter.-"

Bakura blinked, then walked over and read said letter over his hikari's shoulder.

"-…This is _way_ too elaborate to be a prank. Malik would never be able to come up with something like this.-"

Ryou turned to look at his yami. "-I know it's not a prank.-"

Bakura blinked at him. "-Eh?-"

"-I have a second cousin by the name of Harry Potter who lives in England. My mother was a squib, which means she was born from a magical family but had no magic herself.-"

Bakura snorted. "-'Squib'? What the hell kind of word is 'Squib'?-"

The hikari rolled his eyes. "-Yami…-"

"-So what does that make you?-"

Ryou considered this. "-Umm… A Muggle, I think, since neither of my parents were magical.-"

Bakura stared. "-Muggle? Where do you get these words?-"

Ryou huffed. "-From the Wizarding World of Britain, of course.-"

His yami rolled his eyes. "-Riiight.-"

Ryou turned back to the letter. "-So do you think we could take him in for the summers?-"

Bakura grinned, displaying his fangs. "-I think we could work something out…-"

"-Yami!-"

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The first opportunity Harry had to tell his friends came on the train ride to King's Cross Station.

Ron stared at Harry. "You're not going back to the Dursley's this summer?" he asked around a mouthful of Chocolate Frog.

Harry nodded.

Hermione gave him a quizzical look, pointedly ignoring Ron's atrocious manners. "Where _are_ you going, then?"

"To stay with my second cousin in Japan."

Ron gaped. "_Japan_?"

Hermione gasped. "Japan? Oh, wonderful! I've read so much about their magic and customs and…"

Harry and Ron tuned her out. "Yes, Ron, Japan."

The redhead frowned. "But how are you going to get there?"

"Dumbledore said he'd arranged for them to pick me up from King's Cross and take me to Japan by plane."

Ron blinked. "Plain?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Plane. Muggle contraption that flies. Capable of going long distances in a relatively short time."

"But how are you going to find them?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore said they'd recognize me."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Of course they will, you're the Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry laughed. "No, Ron, I'm the Boy-Who-Has-Too-Many-Hyphenated-Names-To-Count."

They all cracked up.

When they got to the station, they dragged their luggage off the Hogwarts Express and were immediately descended upon by the Weasleys.

"Oh, Harry! It's good to see you again!" Mrs. Weasley gushed, giving him a bone-crushing hug.

The twins snickered. "Don't squish him to death, Mum."

Mrs. Weasley let him go and turned to the twins.

Mr. Weasley smiled down at Harry. "I hope you have a good time this summer, Harry."

Harry grinned up at him. "I will. I'm not going back to the Dursley's."

All extraneous conversations among Weasleys stopped.

"Not going back to the Dursley's?" one twin asked incredulously.

"That's great, mate, but—"

"Where are you going to go?"

Mrs. Weasley joined the conversation. "You know you're always welcome at the Burrow, don't you, Harry dear?"

Harry smiled at them all. "Of course, Mrs. Weasley. I'll be staying with my second cousin in Japan."

The twins pounced on Harry. "Japan?"

"You've got—"

"To send us—"

"A souvenir, you know."

The green-eyed boy laughed. "Yes, Fred-and-George, I'll get you something."

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but would you be Harry Potter?" a quiet voice asked from behind him.

Harry turned and found himself looking at a pair of white-haired boys. "Uh, yeah, that's me."

The boy who'd spoken smiled. "Ah, good. Then we're in the right place. I'm Ryou Bakura," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

Harry blinked, then shook it. "You're my second cousin?"

Ryou nodded. "And this is— Yami, what are you doing?"

The other boy was inspecting the train. He glanced back. "Just looking."

Ryou glared at him. It was a rather sorry excuse for a glare, once you'd met Snape. "Yami, get back here. I haven't introduced you yet."

The other boy looked over his shoulder, annoyed. He had a much better glare. "So do it. I don't need to be there."

"Yami!"

He grinned, then went back to examining the train.

Harry blinked. _Fangs…?_ he thought incredulously.

Ryou huffed. "That's Yami Bakura. My twin brother."

The Weasley twins blinked. "You're twins?" one of them asked.

"That's so cool!"

"We've never—"

"Met another set—"

"Of twins before!"

Ryou smiled at them.

"Yes, we're twins. We kinda define "good twin-evil twin", ya know?" Yami said, throwing an arm over Ryou's shoulders. "And call me Bakura."

Harry blinked.

Fred and George bounded forward to shake their hands.

"I'm Gred—"

"And I'm Forge—"

"Or maybe I'm Forge—"

"And I'm Gred."

Ryou stared, bewildered.

Bakura gave them a critical look.

"Fred! George! Stop confusing them!" Mrs. Weasley reprimanded them.

"Sorry, Mum," they chorused.

"I'm actually Fred."

"And I'm George."

Bakura grinned, flashing his fangs again. It gave Harry a distinctly bad feeling. "You like pranking people, then?"

Ryou turned a horrified look on his twin. "Yami—!"

The twins grinned in unison. "Oh, we live for it!"

"It's our life!"

"Our dream—"

"Is to one day open the best joke shop in England!"

Bakura's grin widened. Harry had the sudden urge to hide behind something. "Oh, good. I think we'll get along famously."

"Yami!" Ryou wailed plaintively.

"Well, green-eyes, I do believe we should get going, or my hikari's going to bust a lung yelling at me," Bakura stated matter-of-factly, turning to Harry, who blinked.

"Hikari…?" he asked, confused.

Ryou turned and smiled apologetically at him. "It means 'light'."

"…Ah."

"It's what he calls me, because I'm his light half."

"Oi! Green-eyes! Ryou! Let's get going, here!" Bakura had Harry's trunk on one shoulder and was carrying Hedwig's cage in the other.

"Coming, Yami!" Ryou called, grabbing Harry's sleeve and running after his twin. Harry only barely managed a good-bye wave before he was through the barrier.

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IWA: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Chapter One of The Darkness and the Light. Review? Please? (puppy dog eyes)


	3. Evil Happenings or Shadi, WTF?

**Summary:** After Harry's fourth year, Dumbledore realizes that his blood protections won't work, and so sends him to live with his second cousin who happens to live in Japan, by the name of Ryou Bakura.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. Sorry, there won't be any funny ones here.

**A/N:** Btw, this AUs the Potterverse at the end of Harry's fourth year. Fifth year happens as it does in the books, though, except where I go into detail about it.

"English" "-Japanese-" _Thoughts_ _"Telephone or other such communication device"_ (A/N)

**Last Time:**

"Oi! Green-eyes! Ryou! Let's get going, here!" Bakura had Harry's trunk on one shoulder and was carrying Hedwig's cage in the other.

"Coming, Yami!" Ryou called, grabbing Harry's sleeve and running after his twin. Harry only barely managed a good-bye wave before he was through the barrier.

**Chapter 2: Evil Happenings or Shadi, WTF?**

Voldemort was thinking in front of the fire again, staring into it as though it held the answers to life, the universe, and everything. (IWA: 42. (cracks up) Sorry, I couldn't resist.) He twirled the wine glass between his fingers. He was plotting how to possibly kill the Potter brat. In other words, life as usual. Discounting raids and such, of course.

He blinked as he became aware of a shadow that hadn't been there before. Perhaps not 'life as usual', then.

"Show yourself," he commanded. "Who are you?"

The shadow detached itself from its corner and revealed itself to be a figure dressed in a sand-colored cloak and turban. The man was dark-skinned, with kohl around his eyes and a golden ankh resting on his chest. Egyptian, then.

The figure spoke. "My name is unimportant. However, I do believe I have something of interest to you."

Voldemort gazed levelly at him. "Oh? And what is it?"

A hand emerged from the depths of the cloak and displayed a gold sphere with a stylized Egyptian eye in relief on one side.

"This is the Millennium Eye. I am here to see if you are its true wielder."

Voldemort smirked. "Now, now, let's not jump to conclusions. What makes you think I might be interested?"

The Egyptian's face did not lose its expressionless quality. "This Eye is extremely powerful. It is one of a set of seven Millennium Items."

Voldemort considered this. "You say it's powerful. In what way?"

"The Millennium Items are conduits to the Shadow Realm. By using this Eye, you would not only be able to read the minds of anyone you wished, but also to draw on the Shadows to aid you."

The Dark Lord looked thoughtful. "And just how, exactly, would you be able to tell if it's mine?"

The intruder didn't move. "You would need to install it."

Voldemort looked sharply at him. "Install it? Explain."

The Egyptian inclined his head. "Replace your left eye with this Eye," he replied.

Voldemort stared. "You expect me to _what_?!"

The other didn't move, just looked at him emotionlessly.

Voldemort transferred his gaze to the golden eye the Egyptian still held out.

"…How powerful are these Shadows, exactly? What can they do?"

"They can do nearly anything you want them to," the dark-skinned man told him. "You will be able to use Shadow Magic. One ability common to all the Items is the ability to summon and control monsters from the Shadow Realm."

Voldemort set the wine glass down and walked over to the motionless Egyptian. "One more question. How did you get in here without anyone noticing you? The anti-Apparition wards are still up."

"My Millennium Key," the Egyptian replied, somehow managing to indicate the ankh on his chest (which, now that Voldemort was closer, he could see had an odd key-like protrusion at one side of the base) without moving. "I can use it to teleport."

The Dark Lord thought a bit more, then reached out and took the Eye. The Egyptian's hand disappeared once more into the folds of his cloak.

"And all I have to do is put it in?"

A nod.

An answering smirk.

"Alright then."

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The Death Eaters were nervous. It was the middle of the summer, and they had been called without warning. Also, there was no sign of their Master anywhere.

Suddenly, the doors at the back of the hall they were in opened, and Voldemort strode in. The Death Eaters fell to their knees on instinct, but more than one of them noticed the gleam of gold in their leader's left eye.

The Dark Lord strode to the front of the room and settled himself into the throne set up there for this purpose. His familiar, Nagini, coiled herself up at his feet. "Look at me," he commanded.

As one, the Death Eaters lifted their heads. There was more than one stifled gasp. Voldemort's left eye had been replaced by a golden one, and there were still traces of blood on his face. The evil smirk he was wearing wasn't helping.

"I seem to have acquired a powerful magical artifact, and I would like to test out its power. In three days, I will take a select group of you to Number Four Privet Drive."

"Isn't that where Harry Potter lives?" one foolhardy Death Eater whispered a little too loudly.

Voldemort's red eye immediately focused on him. "Be grateful I'm in a good mood today. Yes, it is where the Potter brat lives." The smirk widened. The Death Eaters near the front tried to edge away unobtrusively. "I believe I would like to test my new abilities on him before I take over the world."

Snape scowled. _This isn't good._

"Lucius."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Choose five or so others to accompany us. We will meet again in three days time."

"Of course, my Lord."

"Dismissed."

Snape's scowl deepened. _I have to inform Dumbledore about this._

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Dumbledore looked up when Snape swept into his office. "Yes, Severus?" he inquired.

"We have a problem," was Snape's curt response.

"Oh?" The Headmaster put his quill down and gave the Potions Master his undivided attention.

"The Dark Lord has acquired a 'powerful magical artifact' and intends to test its power in three days."

Dumbledore paled. "Where?"

Snape sneered. "Potter's residence. We'll have to get the brat out of there."

Dumbledore smiled wanly. "Don't worry, my boy, that's already been taken care of."

Snape stared at him. "What?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I realized that since Voldemort used Harry's blood to return to life that the blood protections his mother gave him aren't effective anymore, so I sent him to live with a different relative."

Snape blinked. "A different relative? He has other relatives?"

The old wizard nodded. "Mm-hmm. A second cousin on his father's side. Probably non-magical, though. Lemon drop?"

Snape sneered. "No thank you."

Dumbledore popped one into his mouth. "Now, back to the matter at hand. What is this artifact?"

"He didn't say, but I believe it's his eye."

Dumbledore blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

Snape smirked. It wasn't often Dumbledore was caught off-guard. "His left eye was artificial at the meeting tonight. I believe it was gold."

Dumbledore stared. "His eye, you say?"

Snape nodded. "Yes. I also believe it was Egyptian, as the relief on the front was of a stylized Egyptian eye."

Dumbledore sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Thank you, Severus."

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Three days later, Voldemort stood with six of his most faithful Death Eaters in front of number four, Privet Drive. He raised his wand, then paused and lowered it. "No," he murmured to himself, "I think I'll use the Eye for this…"

The Death Eaters exchanged nervous glances.

Shadows coalesced and swirled around him for a moment, then leapt forward and slammed into the outermost ward, instantly setting off alarms. After a few seconds, they broke through the barrier and surged forward, only to run into another wall. Just then, Order members started Apparating in. Voldemort didn't even seem to notice.

The Death Eaters exchanged another look, then turned and started attacking as the shadows broke through the second barrier.

Voldemort didn't so much as twitch when a stunning spell missed his head by an inch.

The Death Eaters gave each other panicked looks and redoubled their attacks.

The shadows shattered the third ward, leapt forward, and struck the front door, smashing it to pieces.

Voldemort laughed, a high, evil cackle. He strode forward purposely.

"No!" yelled one of the Order members. He sent a stunning spell at Voldemort's back.

At the last second, Voldemort's wand twitched and the spell hit a shield which absorbed the spell and vanished. The Dark Lord stopped walking and turned to face the fighting wizards with an evil grin on his face. The Order members gasped at the sight of the Eye.

Voldemort chuckled. "Yes, it is a rather disturbing sight, isn't it? This Eye gives me so many new powers, though…" As he spoke, the shadows moved again and encircled him, slowly twisting around him.

Suddenly, they shot out to form a solid wall between the Death Eaters and the Order.

Voldemort cackled again. "Wonderful, isn't it?" he crowed.

The Death Eaters retreated close to their leader, looking at each other apprehensively.

Voldemort abruptly spun and started for the house again, trailed by his rather fearful minions. The spells the Order members sent were easily absorbed by the writhing wall of Shadows.

Voldemort strode into the building and looked around, sneering. This house was so obviously _Muggle_ it hurt his eyes to look at it. Eye, rather. His Millennium Eye was busy looking around for people. He found three Muggles in the living room, but no trace of a wizard besides residual influences obviously created by living here for some time. He snarled.

The Death Eaters flinched.

The Dark Lord stormed into the living room. "Where is the Potter brat?" he demanded.

The horse-faced woman shrieked, the boy who resembled a pig more than a human nearly wet himself in fright, and the giant walrus of a man turned red in anger. "Who do you think you are, breaking into someone's—"

Voldemort cut him off by wrapping shadows around his neck. "Where is he?" he hissed.

The walrus turned purple and started stuttering. "H-h-he went to—to—to—said h-he—s-second c-cous-sin—"

Voldemort screamed in fury. The shadows, feeling his pure _rage_, reacted, blanketing the room in Shadows. Tendrils detached themselves and swirled around everyone there, caressing (Voldemort), exploring (the Death Eaters), or slicing (the Muggles).

By the time Voldemort stopped howling, the family of Muggles had been cut to ribbons. The Shadows dissipated, dropping them to the floor to splash in their own blood while the Death Eaters looked on in horror. Voldemort took a deep breath, wrapping the remaining shadows around himself protectively.

"We're leaving."

The Death Eaters Apparated away.

When the swirling cocoon of shadows dissolved, to the astonishment of the Order members who'd gotten through the wall of Shadows (which had dissipated when the Shadows in the house had), Voldemort was nowhere to be seen.

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IWA: Review? Please? (puppy eyes) I don't update until someone I don't know has reviewed. I might write for my own amusement, but I won't post until I get a response so I _know someone's reading this blasted thing_. (deep breath) Sorry, just had to get that out of my system. I had problems with my previous fics. And no, I haven't forgotten them. I need massive help with Spirit Gate and I need to find the piece of Know Your Place that I probably left at home… And once I do, I WILL UPDATE! I promise!


	4. Meetings

**Summary:** After Harry's fourth year, Dumbledore realizes that his blood protections won't work, and so sends him to live with his second cousin who happens to live in Japan, by the name of Ryou Bakura.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. Sorry, there won't be any funny ones here.

**A/N:** I have never been to Japan. I have no idea what a Japanese airport would be like. Therefore, the airport Ryou, Bakura, and Harry land in is based off the ones here in New York. Also, if I'm talking from Harry's point of view, the yamis and hikaris will be sets of twins, 'cause that's how he sees them. Sorry for any confusion.

**A/N 2:** Again, about Japan from Harry's point of view: I will write out what people are speaking in Japanese around him, even if he can't understand it. You'll just have to remember that Harry doesn't speak Japanese and the Yugi-tachi doesn't speak English. Or Parseltongue. I don't know if I'll put that in yet, though.

"English" "-Japanese-" " Parseltongue " _Thoughts_ _"Telephone or other such communication device"_ (A/N)

**Last Time:**

"We're leaving."

The Death Eaters Apparated away.

When the swirling cocoon of shadows dissolved, to the astonishment of the Order members who'd gotten through the wall of Shadows (which had dissipated when the Shadows in the house had), Voldemort was nowhere to be seen.

**Chapter 3: Meetings**

"So, Ryou, where're the Yugi-tachi gonna meet us?" Bakura asked as he, Ryou, and Harry stood waiting for their luggage. They were speaking in English for Harry's benefit.

"Well, since I didn't know what time our flight would be getting in—oh, that's one of ours—I told Yugi we'd call him once we got settled in," Ryou replied, struggling to pull a massive suitcase off the conveyor belt. Bakura reached over, grabbed a handle, heaved it one-handed off the belt and onto the floor, and gave his twin an amused look.

"Still weak as ever, huh, hikari?"

Ryou gave him a pathetic excuse for a glare. "Shut up, Yami."

Once they'd gotten their luggage, Ryou flagged a taxi and they left for the apartment where the three of them would live for the summer. Once there, they helped Harry move his things into his new room.

That done, Ryou happily announced that he'd call Yugi so they could all meet Harry.

Bakura snorted. "They're probably all staring at the phone by now. Watch—you won't even hear it ring, and then you won't need to call anyone else 'cause they'll all be at the Game Shop."

"Shhh!" Ryou hissed, phone to his ear. He blinked. "-Oh, hello, Yugi. I'm sorry, I didn't hear it ring.-"

Bakura snorted again.

Harry gave him a baffled look. "What?"

"Didn't hear it ring. See? I was right."

Ryou gave him a Look. "-No, we're at my apartment now— Yes, all three of us. Harry's— Oh, is that—-" Ryou blinked. "-Yugi, slow down. I can't understand you.-"

Bakura snorted again. This time, Harry didn't ask.

"-…Alright, we'll be right over.-" He hung up the phone and looked up at them. "Apparently, everyone except Kaiba and Mokuba are at the Kame Game Shop, and we're to meet them there."

"See? I told you!" Bakura crowed.

Ryou glared at him. Really, he _needed_ to work on his glares. They were pathetic. "Come on, Yami, Harry. Let's go. The Game Shop's not that far from here. We'll walk."

Harry looked between the two of them, bewildered. "Who are 'Kaiba' and 'Mokuba'?"

Ryou turned to him, surprised. "Oh, that's right, I forgot you wouldn't recognize them. Kaiba Seto and Kaiba Mokuba. They're brothers. Kaiba is CEO of Kaiba Corporation, which is the leading game company in Japan."

"Yeah, he practically owns Japan's economy, he's so rich," Bakura growled.

"So 'Kaiba' is their last name?" Harry asked helplessly.

"Yes. Here in Japan, we put our family names first. So I'm Bakura Ryou, and you're Potter Harry."

"Right." Harry was struggling to remember this.

Bakura shook his head in amusement. "Let's go."

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A bell tinkled as Bakura shoved open the door.

"-Hello, welcome to Kame Game Shop. Can I help you with something?-" someone asked from inside.

Bakura snorted. "-Yeah, Pharaoh. Go tell the rest of your posse we're here and we brought the English brat.-"

There was a startled pause. "-Tombrobber!-"

"-Well, who else would you expect me to be?-" Bakura retorted, smirking.

"Yami, get out of the way! You're blocking the door!" Ryou complained, pushing ineffectually at his brother.

Bakura looked behind him. "Oh. Right. Sorry." He stepped into the shop, letting Ryou and Harry see who'd spoken.

A short teen with spiky tricolored hair, red eyes, and a lot of black leather stood gaping at them from behind the counter of the small shop. His eyes immediately focused on Harry.

"-So this is him, huh?-" he asked.

Ryou nodded. "-Mm-hmm. He doesn't speak Japanese, though.-"

The boy blinked. "-Oh. Right. Forgot about that.-"

Bakura snorted.

The teen glared at him. Now _he_ knew how to glare. "-Shut up, Tombrobber.-"

"-But I didn't say anything,-" Bakura retorted, grinning at him and showing off his fangs. The boy behind the counter growled.

Ryou stepped between them. "-Yami, is Yugi here?-"

The red-eyed teen blinked. "-Yeah, everyone's upstairs. Hold on, let me close up here.-"

"-Reduced to working in one of the smallest game shops around, huh, Pharaoh?-"

"-Yami, stop it.-"

Harry looked between the three of them. The red-eyed boy had come around the counter and was turning the sign on the front door around.

"Uh, Ryou? Help?"

Ryou smiled at him. "Everyone's upstairs. Come on, you'll like them."

Bakura snorted. "Provided they don't scare him out of the country first."

Ryou glared. "Yami…"

Harry laughed and shook his head. "After what I've been through? I don't think that's possible."

The teen with a seeming penchant for black leather and buckles had been watching them curiously, but, seeing a lull in the conversation, interjected. "-Come on. Let's go,-" he said, gesturing to the back room.

Ryou nodded happily and followed him up the stairs. Bakura and Harry trailed behind them.

When they got to the top of the stairs, the teen (whose name Harry still didn't know) called, "-Aibou, they're here!-"

There was a loud thump, a couple of yelps, and a "-Coming!-"

The door in front of them opened, revealing another teen with tricolored hair and a love of black leather. This boy, though, had wide purple eyes, a golden upside-down pyramid on a chain around his neck, and practically _oozed_ innocence. A boy with blond hair and blue eyes was sitting on the bed in the room next to some cards, having obviously been playing before he was interrupted. A tall boy with dark hair gelled to a point and a brunette girl were standing by the bed. All three looked highly amused.

"-Hi Yami! Hi Ryou! Hi Bakura! C'mon in!-" the purple-eyed boy greeted them, confusing the heck out of Harry.

"Ryou?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Harry?" Ryou answered.

"Why did he call the other boy 'Yami'? I thought that was your brother's name," Harry said as they were ushered into the room and sat down.

"It is. For both of them."

Harry stared.

Ryou smiled at him. "They have the same first name. That's one of the reasons Yami likes to be called Bakura."

Harry blinked. "Oh."

The purple-eyed teen clapped his hands. "-Alright! We're all here now! Time for introductions!-" He grinned blindingly at Harry. "-I'm Mutou Yugi.-"

"-Mutou Yami,-" the red-eyed teen at the desk put in.

"-Jounouchi Katsuya,-" came from the blond.

"-Honda Hiroto,-" the one with pointed hair said, grinning and giving Harry a thumbs up.

"-Mazaki Anzu,-" the girl concluded.

Harry stared. "Harry Potter," he contributed. "I'm _never_ going to be able to remember all that."

Ryou laughed. "Don't worry, I'll help you."

Harry sent him a grateful look. "Thanks."

The blond—Jou-something, wasn't it?—blinked. "-Huh?-"

"-Oh, I just told Harry-kun I'd help him learn your names.-"

"-…Oh.-"

The dark-haired teen blinked. "-Isn't that his last name?-"

The girl smacked him on the head. "-Idiot. They say their names the other way in England.-"

He rubbed his head. "-Ow. Sorry.-"

Harry turned to Ryou. "I'm really sorry, but could you tell me their names again? I've forgotten them already…" He ducked his head sheepishly.

Ryou smiled. "Sure. That's Yami and Yugi—they're twins, just like me and Yami—that's Jou, that's Honda, and that's Anzu," he informed him, pointing them out.

"Right," Harry said, trying desperately to remember. "…Another set of twins? I didn't think they were that common…"

Bakura shrugged. "Eh, well, we just don't ask about that sort of stuff."

Harry missed the grateful look Ryou sent his darker twin.

"-So, Ryou, you'll translate for him?-" Yugi asked excitedly.

Ryou nodded. "-Mm-hmm.-"

Jou perked up. "-Great! Now we can ask him some questions!-"

The white-haired hikari laughed.

"-This isn't an interrogation, Jou!-" Anzu said, glaring at him.

The blond shrugged. "-So? I'm curious. Okay, first off—when's his birthday?-"

Ryou sighed and shook his head before turning to a befuddled Harry. "When's your birthday, Harry?"

The Boy-Who-Lived blinked. "July 31st. Uh, why?"

His cousin smiled. "They're curious. This is probably going to turn into an interrogation pretty soon."

Harry grinned. "I can deal with that. The Weasleys are the same way."

Bakura looked over while Ryou related the date to the others. "Weasleys? You mean the redheaded bunch?"

Harry nodded. "Yup. Fred and George are the Weasley twins."

Bakura's eyes gleamed. "Good to know."

Ryou slapped him on the arm. "Yami!"

Harry grinned happily. _You know, I think I could learn to like it here, names notwithstanding…_ He blinked. "You know, Ryou, I don't think I know your birthday. When is it, anyway?"

"May 19th."

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IWA: Sorry about the rather abrupt ending. I wanted to post it before I forgot about it _again_. Anywho, questions, comments, WTF-moments? Review!


	5. Consequences

**Summary:** After Harry's fourth year, Dumbledore realizes that his blood protections won't work, and so sends him to live with his second cousin who happens to live in Japan, by the name of Ryou Bakura.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. ...This is Would I be posting here if I did own them?

**A/N:** I have no idea what street names are like in Japan, so I made something up.

**A/N 2: **I'd forgotten that Ryou and Bakura had met the Weasleys at King's Cross until I'd almost finished the scene at number 12. (sweatdrops) Please forgive any weirdness that might result.

"English" "-Japanese-" " Parseltongue " _Thoughts_ _"Telephone or other such communication device"_ (A/N)

**Last Time:**

Harry grinned happily. _You know, I think I could learn to like it here, names notwithstanding…_ He blinked. "You know, Ryou, I don't think I know your birthday. When is it, anyway?"

"May 19th."

**Chapter 4: Consequences**

Harry smiled when he heard Jou's triumphant exclamation from downstairs turn into a disappointed wail. _Sounds like Yugi's beating the pants off Jou again,_ he thought, stuffing handfuls of underwear into a drawer.

Just then, there was a tap on the window. Harry looked up to see an owl at the window, a letter clutched in its beak.

"Huh. I wonder who'd be writing me now," he muttered, opening the window. The owl fluttered in and dropped the letter on the desk before flying out again.

Harry picked up the letter, immediately recognizing Dumbledore's flowing handwriting.

Mr. H. Potter

The third bedroom

Apartment 801

73 Sakura Street

Domino, Japan

The Boy-Who-Lived shrugged, opened the envelope, and read the letter.

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Yugi cheered as he once again won.

"-Aaargh!-" Jou wailed.

Anzu snickered. "-So, the score is what, now?-"

Honda smirked. "-Yugi, 241. Jou, 0.-"

Ryou looked worriedly toward the stairs. "-Has anyone seen Harry since he left to unpack?-" he asked.

"-Nope,-" Jou replied, gathering up his cards.

"-Sorry,-" Yugi responded. "-Play again?-"

The blond grinned. "-You bet! I'll beat you one of these days!-"

"-I'll go check on him,-" Bakura volunteered, already halfway up the stairs.

"-Thanks, Yami!-" Ryou called back.

Bakura didn't respond, just kept going. He poked his head into Harry's room.

The teen in question was standing by his desk, looking at a piece of… was that parchment? Wow. You don't see that that often these days.

"Harry?" he called.

When he didn't get a response, he shrugged, crossed the room, and closed the window, then picked up the envelope sitting on the desk, blinking at the odd address. Upon realizing the envelope (Which was also make of parchment. Ra, where did these people _find_ this stuff?) was empty, he peered over Harry's shoulder at the letter.

_"Dear Harry,_

_I regret to inform you that your Muggle relatives, the Dursleys, were killed earlier _

_today by Voldemort. I realize that this is terrible news, but I thought that you would _

_rather find out now than hear the news later from someone else._

_Albus Dumbledore."_

Bakura blinked. "Ouch," he whispered.

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Silence reigned at number 12 Grimmauld place. The residents had just been informed by a bone-white and shaking Tonks that Voldemort had attacked Privet Drive.

Ron, Hermione, and Sirius sat in shock. The remaining Weasleys and Remus exchanged horrified looks.

Just then, Snape flooed in, waking Sirius from his trance.

The convict leapt to his feet and grabbed the professor by the front of his robes.

"Where's Harry?" he demanded.

The Potions Master blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Where is my godson?!"

Snape sighed, detaching Sirius' hands from his robes. "If this is about the attack on his relatives, stop yelling at me. He wasn't even there."

Sirius stared. "Huh?"

"If he wasn't with those Muggle relatives of his, then where is he?" Mrs. Weasley asked, wringing her hands.

Hermione started slightly. "Oh! Japan. Harry's in Japan."

Everyone turned to stare at her.

She looked around and cringed slightly under all the concerned and/or curious gazes.

"Harry told Ron and me on the train that he was going to stay with his second cousins in Japan for the summer. They picked him up from King's Cross."

Just then, the fire flared and Dumbledore stepped in.

Tonks jumped up, her hair now a rather frazzled red-orange. (IWA: Not that I have any idea how a color can be frazzled. (sweatdrop)) "Why didn't you tell me Harry was in Japan?!" she screamed at him.

Dumbledore blinked.

There was a pause.

"Lemon drop?"

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IWA: I figure that Dumbledore's instinctive reaction to that many furious glares is to revert to barmy-old-man mode. (sweatdrop) Hence the offering them lemon drops. Well, anyway, review? Please? (puppy eyes) Reviews make me remember that I have stories going and that I should probably write them sometime… And more than one per chapter would be nice….


	6. Decisions and Distractions

**Summary:** After Harry's fourth year, Dumbledore realizes that his blood protections won't work, and so sends him to live with his second cousin who happens to live in Japan, by the name of Ryou Bakura.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. Sorry, there won't be any funny ones here.

"English" "-Japanese-" "§Parseltongue§" _Thoughts_ _"Telephone or other such communication device"_ (A/N)

**Last Time:**

Just then, the fire flared and Dumbledore stepped in.

Tonks jumped up, her hair now a rather frazzled red-orange. (IWA: Not that I have any idea how a color can be frazzled. (sweatdrop)) "Why didn't you tell me Harry was in Japan?!" she screamed at him.

Dumbledore blinked.

There was a pause.

"Lemon drop?"

**Chapter 5: Decisions and Distractions**

Lucius pulled off the Death Eater mask and robes, walked into the study, and sat down heavily in an armchair by the fire. He stared at the dancing flames, mesmerized. Remembering the attack on that Muggle home earlier that day, he shivered.

_Lucius stood behind his Lord as he gathered what looked to be swirling darkness around him for the third time, preparing for the final blow to the wards surrounding number 4 Privet Drive. The Shadows lunged forward like a striking snake, shattering the powerful magic. Lucius shuddered at the amount raw power the Dark Lord had at his command. Then he laughed, a high, evil cackle._

_Lucius only remembered to breathe when someone shot a Stunner at Voldemort._

_After a brief, meaningless conversation that only served to instill fear, his Master was striding toward the front door of the building again. Lucius and the other Death Eaters scrambled to follow, the spells sent their way effortlessly deflected by a writhing wall of darkness._

_The Malfoy head looked around the house, repulsed by the sheer _Muggle_-ness of it. Surely the Savior of the Wizarding World couldn't live _here_? The very idea defied every Wizarding sensibility he had._

_The resident Muggle family they found huddled in the living room. A too-skinny, horse-faced woman was hiding behind a massive man that reminded Lucius forcibly of a walrus. A pig of a boy was attempting to do the same, but the fact that he was almost as wide as he was tall made it nearly impossible. Lucius goggled at them from the safety of his mask. _These are the Potter boy's relatives?_ he wondered incredulously._

_Then the interrogation started._

"_Where is the Potter brat?" the Dark Lord demanded._

"_Who do you think you are, breaking into someone's—" the walrus-man blustered, but was cut off by tendrils of Shadows wrapping around his fat neck._

"_Where is he?"_

"_H-h-he went to—to—to—said h-he—s-second c-cous-sin—" the unfortunate Muggle stuttered._

_The Dark Lord snapped. He screamed. None of the Death Eaters dared move for fear of the wisps of deadly Shadows curling around them. The Muggles screamed as well, for those same Shadows were—_

Lucius was pulled sharply out of his reverie by the feeling of a delicate hand stroking through his hair. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I can't do this anymore."

His wife looked at him questioningly from her perch on the armrest of the chair he was seated in.

"The Dark Lord is growing steadily more insane. The new eye isn't helping. I fear that soon, he will be calling on his followers to commit atrocities far worse than any we've done before. And as his right-hand man, I will be—" His throat closed, cutting him off mid-sentence. He buried his head in his hands in a rare show of weakness. "I don't want Draco to be dragged into this mess. I—I can't do this anymore."

Narcissa looked worried. "Is there a way you can get out?" she asked thoughtfully, her hand still running soothingly through his platinum mane.

Lucius lifted his head and blinked at her. "If I leave, he'll find me. He'll go after you and Draco."

"Not if we leave the country."

Lucius straightened. "A Malfoy never runs away."

Narcissa sighed. "Well, I tried. So, you need a way to get out. Without getting out."

There was a minute of silence.

"Could you become a spy?"

Lucius stared at her. "I knew there was a reason I married you."

Narcissa gave him a wry look. "You mean besides the fact that our parents arranged it when we were born?"

The Malfoy patriarch blinked. "Oh right."

She rolled her eyes.

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Harry blinked, overwhelmed. Ryou and Yugi were dragging him—quite literally—to the Game shop in an attempt to get his mind off his relatives' deaths. Ryou, meanwhile, was explaining the rules of Duel Monsters.

"—so if you attack a monster in attack mode and you monster has higher attack points, you subtract the other monster's attack points from your monster's attack points and—"

Harry cast a pleading look over his shoulder at Bakura, who was fighting a losing battle against falling over laughing.

Yugi pushed open the door and let them in.

"Ryou," Bakura said, snickering, "shut up. I think you're scaring him."

Ryou paused mid-word and looked at Harry, who was giving him an I-completely-lost-track-of-what-you're-saying-several-miles-ago-but-you-won't-let-me-get-a-word-in-edgewise-so-I'm-just-going-to-stare-at-you-until-you-stop-talking look. The white-haired teen snapped his mouth shut and blushed. "Sorry."

Harry took this opportunity to look around, as the last time he was here, he'd been pulled upstairs before he'd had a chance to. The walls of the shop were covered with shelves full of games, posters, and other memorabilia. Nevermind that he couldn't read any of it, Harry was impressed. He recognized some of the cards on display as being from the game Ryou's friends liked to play, but the rest of it was completely foreign to him.

Speaking of Ryou, he was standing in front of the counter, talking urgently to the ruby-eyed teen behind it. Yugi was standing next to him, nodding.

Yami reached down and pulled out two decks of cards, handing them to Ryou, who smiled brilliantly at him and bounced back to where Harry and Bakura were waiting by the door.

"These are starter decks for Duel Monsters," Ryou explained, taking Harry by the arm and pulling him into the back room. "It'll be a lot easier to understand the game once you've played it."

"It's the same with Quidditch," Harry agreed, then froze. "Hold on, you want me to play a game I don't know the rules of? Without watching it first? I can't even read the cards!"

Bakura snorted from behind him. "Oh, relax. I'll translate for you. And explain the rules."

Harry let Ryou push him into a chair. "Oh. That's okay, then."

Ryou took a seat across the table from him and handed him one of the decks. "Here's your deck." Harry took it and started shuffling.

Ryou looked up from hid cards. "Are we playing by Battle City rules, Yami?"

Bakura considered, then shook his head. "Nah, let's just get him used to the game first. Duelist Kingdom rules."

Ryou nodded.

Harry glanced between them, confused, but Bakura just grinned and shook his head. "Too many rules for a beginner."

Harry blinked, then nodded. "I understand that…"

"So you have 2000 life points. Keep track of them. I'll tell you when you lose them, and how much," Bakura informed Harry, watching over the green-eyed teen's shoulder as Ryou finished shuffling and drew five cards. "Starting hand is five cards."

"Thanks, Bakura."

"Sure."

"I'll go first," Ryou volunteered. Harry nodded. Ryou drew another card.

"Draw one card at the start of your turn," Bakura told him. Harry nodded again.

Ryou considered his cards for a minute, then pulled two out of his hand. "I play Island Turtle (1100/2000) in Defense Mode and one card face down. Turn end."

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_**IMPORTANT! **_How detailed do you want me to make the game? Vyre and I RP'd it out, so I can do basically whatever you want. If I don't hear from anybody about it, I'll just do the whole thing.


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